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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Heat of the Moment by Katie Rose Blog Tour

The Boys of Summer are back! In Katie Rose’s sweet, sparkling novel, the newest New Jersey Sonic falls for the woman who’s trying desperately to save his career.

Physical therapist Jessica Hart has learned her lesson: Never date professional athletes. She’s been down that road, and barely recovered after the relationship crashed and burned. Then Jessica meets Gavin King. An All-Star slugger with chiseled good looks, Gavin was traded to the Sonics because he hurt his knee sliding into second, and now his future is in her hands. Gavin’s no bad boy—but he’s tempting enough to make Jessica think twice about all her rules.

Gavin is trying to find a comfortable routine. If he wants his old life back, he must take it easy, stay out of the limelight, and keep his distance from gorgeous redheaded physical therapists. The thing is, Gavin isn’t the kind of guy to sit on his ass and let other people pull his weight. And when he sees something he wants, he can’t help but fight for it, even if it means risking everything, even if it only lasts a single moment: like one kiss from Jessica.

Pete walked into the PT room a moment later, popping his gum with a grin.

“I want you to meet our new player, Gavin King. Gavin, this is Jessica Hart. She is the best sports therapist in the business, and a hell of a trainer. Jess, Gavin just joined the team, but he’s on the DL.”

Jessica turned to the coach, saw the ballplayer beside him, and her heart stopped.

He was exactly her type. Or her former type. As she took in his magnificent physique, black eyes, and Colgate smile, she felt an instant attraction.

Gavin was the kind of guy she used to dream about, drool over, and date. She’d met enough of them growing up, friends of her brothers who started out as decent guys but got caught up in the hype and eventually stomped all over some poor girl silly enough to give up her heart. Unfortunately, she’d had to walk that path herself. She’d made the fatal mistake of falling for an outfielder who played for Cleveland, and eventually played her. Zach had the same dark hair, heart-stopping smile, and killer body.

He’d taught her what the word devastation meant.

“Good to meet you.” She extended her hand, reminding herself to think of him in clinical terms: he was a pro baseball player, a young athlete, and he was hurt. “So what seems to be the problem?”

“I had surgery for a meniscus tear,” he said, lifting his left pant leg and indicating a bandage. “It’s pretty much healed, but the surgeon wants me in physical therapy for a few months to build back up. I think they sent my test results, the MRI, and a script.”

She nodded, squatting before him and removing the bandage to examine the pink half-inch line on his knee. “I’ll take a look at the films. Red zone?” she asked, referring to the location of his tear.

“Yeah, I think so. But they said it spread into the white zone.”

Her eyes shot to Pete’s, and he gave a slight negative shake of his head. This news wasn’t good, and neither one of them wanted to share their misgivings. A tear that went into the white zone could mean big trouble for a ballplayer, or it could heal well and the limb would fully recover. It would take weeks before they’d know, and she understood now how the Sonics had acquired this magnificent specimen of a man:

His previous team didn’t want the risk.

So New Jersey had rolled the dice, gambling on his recovery. She could only hope they’d beat the odds.

“Okay, let’s get started. Have you done any therapeutic exercise up until now?”

“Yes, for a couple of weeks,” he said, flexing the knee to demonstrate. “They had me doing leg raises until they took the brace off.”

“That makes sense. We won’t do much today; we’ll do an evaluation, take a look at your records, and then we will put together a program.”

“How long?”

Her eyes met his and she saw the pain and frustration there. No player ever wanted to be on the disabled list, especially for any period of time. She didn’t want to raise false hopes, but she also didn’t want to discourage him. She took a deep breath, carefully choosing her words.

“It’s different with everyone. Some people recover much more quickly than others. A lot depends on how well you heal, how much you can tolerate, and if you’re willing to do the exercises at home. That will give us the quickest turnaround.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said fervently. “I just want to get back in the game.”

Jessica nodded as she wrapped the limb with the heating pad. No way in hell would she tell him the truth:

He might never be back.

Reviews by the
Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆☆☆The Heat of the Moment is the third book in The Boys of Summer series. It is better to read this series in order but I imagine that it can be read as a standalone without issue.

The Heat of the Moment concentrates on the new first baseman for the New Jersey Sonics, Gavin King. Gavin has been traded from the LA Dodgers to the Sonics after tearing his meniscus. LA doesn't want to take the chance on him but the Sonics are an up and coming young team. They are willing to take the chance that Gavin will heal and his bat will help them get to the World Series. Gavin is in need of rehab for his knee, the Sonics new sports therapist, Jessica Hart proves to be Gavin's saving grace.

I am really enjoying this series. I love the direction the characters and the series itself is taking. My only compliant with this one was my need to slap Jessica a time or two. She was very hot and cold with Gavin, which was somewhat understandable given the circumstances, so it was more MY issue than the book’s issue.

I really enjoyed reading it. I know I've said it before but mentioning a sport in two paragraphs or in some back history does not make a sports romance. The Boys of Summer series is not like that at all. It showcases baseball, which I love. It's as much a part of the series as the characters themselves. That is what makes a sports romances. Romances revolved around the sport, not just a mention here and there. Well done Ms. Rose. Looking forward to what comes next.

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆The Heat of the Moment is a good sports romance. Gavin has injured his knee and gets traded to the Sonics. Several early scenes of this book reminded me little of Bull Durham, my favourite baseball movie, so I was hooked early. I liked seeing Gavin's struggle to deal with his injury and fit into a new team.

Jessica, our heroine, is a total tomboy but at times she is insecure when it comes to her looks. Otherwise she is a strong, giving woman but that insecurity at one point had me wanting to just slap her.

I really enjoyed the romance between Jessica and Gavin. They become friends but they were electric together so it was only a matter of time before they became more. I had a great time watching them fall in love. I'd definitely recommend The Heat of the Moment for fans of sports romance.

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have read a string of great sports romances in the past two weeks and The Heat of the Moment is no exception. Once again Ms. Rose combines the right amount of sports and romance with just a bit of conflict and a whole lot of lovin’ to create an enjoyable book that I look forward to reading again. Unlike the earlier books in the series, Gavin is new to the Sonics and New Jersey. Coming from California is enough of a culture shock, doing it during winter when it’s still sunny and warm in Cali makes it worse, but the fact that he’s still recovering from surgery to repair an injury he sustained while playing and has basically been dumped by his team makes it the absolute worst. While Gavin is not exactly pleased about the situation, he’s nowhere near the belligerent player he could have been and still been forgiven for because he got a raw deal. Once the shock of the trade passes, Gavin is determined to get back to his peak physical condition and make the Sonics glad they gambled on him – and if the Dodgers come to realize what they’ve lost by dumping him, well that’s just a bonus for him.

Fortunately for Gavin, what the Sonics lack in club amenities they make up for in staff and his physical therapist not only knows her stuff, but Jessica proves to be quite the unintentional motivator as Gavin comes to realize that he has a weakness for redheads – or at least one redhead. Because Jessica grew up in a home with a father and five brothers who lived, breathed, and ate sports, she not only knows baseball and can talk about it, but she understands that male athlete’s mindset (including an injured one) and Gavin finds himself drawn to her in a way he hasn’t experienced before. But Jessica has been burned by a professional athlete in the past so Gavin doesn’t only have to contend with her need to maintain a professional distance, but also that of a past experience that left a REALLY bad taste in her mouth. Luckily for the reader and Jessica, Gavin understands anything worth having is worth the effort and he’s not only willing to put in the work on his rehabilitation but also on making his physical therapist a permanent part of his life.

I am really enjoying Ms. Rose’s The Boys of Summer series and I liked how she took this book in a direction that gave us a different perspective of the sport, yet kept the book immersed in baseball. There is an immediate comfort level between Gavin and Jessica that makes the way their relationship develops and changes seem real. I did feel that their first time together occurred rather quickly, but then again I believe the author intended it to feel that way. The chemistry between Gavin and Jessica was electric and I loved how quickly a simple kiss could become so much more. I also enjoyed watching Gavin become part of the Sonics and how he cemented those relationships gradually, as would be expected. I will say that I expected more conflict to arise between Roger and Jessica, but I’m actually glad the author chose to keep the conflict between Roger and Gavin instead of having Roger attempt to force the issue with Jessica. I think what impressed me most (outside of the actual romance) was that the author presented the story in such a way that I wasn’t sure as to whether or not Gavin would be able to play once his injury was healed. And nope, I won’t tell you how that turned out. You’re just going to have to read it for yourself. The Heat of the Moment was the perfect addition to The Boys of Summer series and I cannot wait to read more about the New Jersey Sonics.

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the series – and I reviewed and enjoyed the first two, so was delighted to get to read this latest episode in the lives of these fun baseball players. I think you could read this as a standalone, but if you are into sports romance, then why not start with book 1?

Being traded down, dealing with an injury and in the cold of Jersey, Gavin King is not in the happiest of moods. And it is fair to say that things don't improve for a while. I loved how he compared what he had to what he had arrived at – it gives a fascinating insight into the differences between the elite and the next level down. Something that is maybe not so obvious to the casual observer. However the care and attention from his physio, and the friendly ribbing from his team mates help him see some brighter sides to his move. Jessica, the physio, having grown up with athletic brothers and having been burnt by another baseball player, is avoiding any involvement with team members – however much Gavin tempts her ... but in usual Ms. Rose style, we get a fun, flaming and sexy read as they can't help the pull of that chemistry.

Award-winning historical author Katie Rose makes her contemporary debut with
the Boys of Summer novels, Bring on the
Heat and Too Hot to Handle, which
combine Katie’s true loves: baseball and romance! When not watching baseball,
Katie is at her lake house in New Jersey, hard at work on her next book.

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